The Senate is the University's primary academic authority. As set out in the University's Charter it is the role of the Senate (subject to the Statutes of the University and the control and approval of the Council) to ‘regulate and superintend the education and discipline of students and of undergraduates of the University' (The Charter, Article 12).
The powers vested in the Senate are set out in Section 20 of the Statutes and include (subject to Council approval where necessary) the direction and regulation of education and examinations, the award of degrees, and the promotion of research. Senate has delegated its authority for a number of activities which fall within its remit in respect of educational provision, as set out in the Statement of Delegated Powers in order to improve the effectiveness of the conduct of University business, and enable as many decisions as possible to be taken by those with direct responsibility for the conduct of this business. The Standing Orders of the Senate set out such matters as the conduct of meetings, quorum and voting, and arrangements for Senate committees.
The composition of the Senate is set out in Section 19 of the Statutes and the Ordinances Part 2 : Organisation and Government, paragraph 2.9. The Senate has approximately 150 members, including the Deputy Vice-Chancellors/Pro Vice-Chancellors, the Deans and Associate Deans of the Faculties, the Heads of the academic Schools and Research Centres, representatives from the academic staff in each School, representatives of the research staff and those administrative groups most closely associated with educational activities, and representatives of the Students' Union. The Senate is Chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. The Secretary to the Senate is the Registrar and Chief Operating Officer, Mr Simon Higman. Day-to-day enquiries should be addressed to the Assistant Secretary, Secretariat. The confirmed, unrestricted/ non-confidential minutes of Senate meetings are publicly available and copies can be obtained by e-mailing H.Daggenhurst@soton.ac.uk